Grace Under Pressure Super Deluxe Edition desktop wallpaper

I now have a complete set of Grace Under Pressure Super Deluxe Edition desktop wallpaper images available for your enjoyment, found on my main Wallpaper page as well as on the p/g Super Deluxe page in the Discography  (where you'll also find Geddy's linernotes and other notes about the release). 

Typically in the past, when I take a square image and seek to create a widescreen image for use as wallpaper, I've done so in Photoshop using a mix of cropping and creative cloning. For this album, for a few of the images I also used AI for the first time to creatively expand square images to fill the extra space (starting with the cover image).  I think it worked amazingly well! - A huge thank you to John Patuto at Cygnus-X1.net for providing the transcripts and raw scans!

New Discography Page - "Grace Under Pressure Super Deluxe Edition"

I've updated my Discography with the Grace Under Pressure Super Deluxe Edition page, which includes the new liner notes essay penned by Geddy Lee, plus transcripts of Pressure Release (the Grace Under Pressure tour book essay by Neil Peart), as well as A Rush Newsreel from the Grace Under Pressure press kit published in 1985.  A huge thank you to John Patuto for sharing his transcript, and check back soon for wallpaper images!

"Hands of Man" (instrumental version) by Alex Lifeson, Rik Emmett & Liona Boyd

Since the Winter Olympics are back in the spotlight, I wanted to share something truly special—and quite rare—from the archives.

I originally posted this on my Freedom of Music website about 25 years ago. However, since SRO/Anthem asked me to take that site down shortly after, there is a good chance you haven't heard this.

In 1987, Alex Lifeson teamed up with Triumph's Rik Emmett, jazz legend Ed Bickert, and classical guitarist Liona Boyd. Calling themselves the Canadian Guitar Summit, they recorded "Beyond Borders" for a flexi-disc included in the July issue of Guitar Player magazine. While that specific recording is relatively easy to find online, what I have for you today is much more elusive.

The following year, Alex reunited with Rik and Liona to record "Hands of Man" for the tribute album Dream On The Horizon: A Tribute To The Olympic Spirit, released in support of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

The album contains a version with vocals by Joel Wade, and an instrumental version featuring just the three guitarists.  The instrumental version is the one I’ve uploaded here. Though "Hands of Man" was briefly available as a 7" single, it has largely faded into obscurity. The track was written by Boyd, who later gave a "special thanks to Alex Lifeson" in the liner notes of her album Dancing On the Edge.

"Geddy Lee on Rockline for Power Windows" - November 18, 1985

Ongoing contributor Anonymotron42 has been busy, and has taken the time to transcribe another radio broadcast, this time it's Geddy Lee on Rockline for Power Windows, November 18,1985, just over 40 years ago. Rockline interviews are always fun, and this one has a great mix of die-hard fans calling in with great questions. - Another huge thank you to Anonymotron42 for your hard work!

"Rand Paul Clashes With Rush Over "The Spirit of Radio"" - MotherJones.com, June 3, 2010

Today is the 45th anniversary of the release of Permanent Waves, and it is still making waves and remains many fan's favorite album.....    Sixteen years ago, when Libertarian Rand Paul successfully campaigned for Senate, he frequently quoted Rush's lyrics and used their music in his campaign, but the band did not approve.  As shared by MotherJones.com in Rand Paul Clashes With Rush Over "The Spirit of Radio", the band's legal representative eventually sent a cease and desist demand to Paul, but explained that the band didn't necessarily disagree with his politics but rather were simply against the use of their music in a U.S. political campaign. 

"Far Beyond 2112" - Goldmine, April 2020

Hard to believe this week will be 6 years without Neil. In their April 2020 issue, Goldmine magazine published a memorial to Neil Peart dubbed "Far Beyond 2112". Along with a traditional "In Memorial" piece, writer Rush Evans mourns the passing of Neil while embracing the legacy of Rush. - Thank you to Scott Hansen for providing the original article!